During a meeting with Australian Defense Minister Brendan Nelson in the Iraqi capital Saturday, Mr. Maliki said the security plan is moving in the right direction despite the challenges facing it.

Earlier, a bomb exploded on a bus in Baghdad's predominantly Shi'ite neighborhood of Sadr City, killing at least three people and wounding at least five others.

In other violence, the U.S. military says one American soldier was killed and two others wounded when their patrol struck a roadside bomb southwest of Baghdad. U.S. military officials also say coalition forces detained 13 suspected terrorists and seized weapons in two separate military operations around Baghdad.